The effect of radio frequency heating on chemical, physical and sensory aspects of quality in turkey breast rolls

The effects of radio frequency (RF) heating on the chemical, physical and sensory properties of large diameter encased turkey breast rolls were compared to those of the same products cooked in a conventional steam oven. The time to endpoint temperature (minimum 73 °C) for an RF-cooked product at 500 W was 40 min as compared to 150 min for a steam-cooked product. Proximate analysis of macro components, assays of the B-vitamins, thiamine and riboflavin, and texture profile analysis (TPA) revealed no significant difference (P ⩾ 0.05) between the two cooking methods. However, RF-cooked turkey rolls had lower Hunter a values (redness) than their steam cooked counterparts. In addition, the rate of lipid oxidation in RF-cooked rolls, during refrigerated storage at 5 °C, was significantly slower than in the steam-cooked products. While a sensory panel could distinguish between RF- and steam-cooked rolls, panellists did not express a preference for rolls cooked by either method.